DEAUVILLE, FRANCE — Godolphin and its associated Rabbah Bloodstock contributed to a solid start to the Arqana October Sale on Tuesday, with Rabbah in particular making their presence felt through the purchase of nine yearlings for €1,456,000.It was Anthony Stroud who signed for the day's top lot on behalf of Godolphin after bidding €360,000 for the Blue Point first foal of Ronea (Sea The Stars), a daughter of the Group winner and producer The Juliet Rose (Monsun). The colt (lot 74) was bred in partnership by Ecurie des Monceaux, Guy Heald and Meridian International and is from the family of Godolphin's Arabian Crown (Dubawi), who has had a productive season and has won the G1 Canadian International and G3 Kilternan Stakes since the catalogue was printed.Jaber Abdullah was present in Deauville with trainer James Tate and they started compiling their list of purchases right from the off. Under the Rabbah banner, they signed for the first lot through the ring, who was also a Blue Point colt from Monceaux bought for €240,000. He too was a first foal, this one out of the G3 Prix des Reservoirs winner Fancy Me (Pivotal).The most expensive purchase by the Rabbah team was lot 147, a colt by Night Of Thunder and the first foal of the Siyouni mare Amirvati, a winning half-sister to the G1 Prix Jean Prat winner Aesop's Fables (Distorted Humor).Alban Chevalier du Fau, who consigned him on behalf of breeder Haras des Trois Chapelles through The Channel Consignment, said, “He's a first foal so I'm very pleased for his breeder, Simon Venner of Haras des Trois Chapelles, who is a very important client for us. They have one farm based in France and they deserve that kind of satisfaction. “Night Of Thunder, he's had a terrific year again. It's always easier with good stallions, to have that sire power, but it's not only Night of Thunder. This horse, he deserved it. He looks a sharp two-year-old.“I'm very pleased also as this is the first time I've sold a horse to Rabbah. They've been very strong today and I'm pleased that they got this horse.”He added, “I'm also very grateful to Johnny Hassett, who was the under-bidder, trying to buy to breeze, so he's been very brave.”Reflecting on the strength of the market on a solid opening day, Chevalier du Fau said, “We could feel that over these last few days. I spoke with some other consignors and it was our feeling that the people viewing the horses were here to buy horses – there were no tourists or tyre-kickers.”An improved clearance rate of 81%, achieved from the sale of 154 of the 191 horses offered, saw the figures settle at roughly the same level as the opening day 12 months ago. With the adjusted format of this sale – to four days from six last year – direct comparisons are difficult but the average of €91,649 and median of €75,000 stood up well against the 2025 figures of a €93,144 average and €70,000 median. The turnover this time was €14,114,000, which was pretty much on par with last year when seven more horses were marked as sold. Family Ties Keep Collet HappyOn a day when the Aga Khan Studs announced that dual Arc winner Daryz will stand at Ireland in Gilltown Stud while Rayif and Samangan will join Haras de Bonneval, a proven member of the Bonneval roster made his mark at Arqana. Zarak's ten yearlings sold on the day included the top-priced filly (lot 103), a daughter of Storm To The Sea (Siyouni) who was bred by Marie-Laure Collet in partnership with Teddy Poirier and Ecurie Haras de Chateau. She was sold to Sebastian Desmontils of Chauvigny Bloodstock for €240,000 on behalf of Haras de Thenney.“This is a family that is very close to my heart,” Collet said. “We had River Sans Retour, her third dam, on loan, who produced Fantastic Filly [winner of the G3 Miesque Stakes and G3 Senorita Stakes]. She was then sold on, as she was producing well, so my father and I decided to look for a daughter. We found [granddam] Miss Bio, who was the first mare that I bought for Papa when I was 15 or 16. Her first foal was [G1 Prix Jean Prat winner] Stormy River, and of course then there was [G1 Grand Prix de saint-Cloud winner] Silverwave and company. “We wanted to keep a filly from the family, which was the dam of this filly, Storm To The Sea. She of course then produced Saidi El Fal (Lope De Vega), who won his Listed race.We met Christian Billiez at the sales following that. He had bought into Saidi El Fal and he has a share in Zarak, so we decided to partner together to breed this filly. I'm delighted that she's staying in France, and she'll be trained by Francis Graffard, so it doesn't get much better.”McAuliffe and Don Reinvest After Successful YearThere was another collaboration involving Zarak in the case of lot 149, the Haras San Isidro colt out of Atarfe (Anabaa), who is already the dam of the six-time winner and Listed-placed Pride Of America (American Post) as well as treble winner and Group 3-placed Miss Cantik (Recoletos). Both those horses raced for the successful partnership of Daniel McAuliffe and Anoj Don, having been bought for them by agent Matt Coleman.In a bloodstock twist of Victor Kiam's advertising slogan 'I liked it so much I bought the company', McAuliffe and Don decided that they liked the mare's offspring so much that they bought her a nice nomination. “We've bought three of the mare's offspring and I asked breeder Laurent Dulong that if they paid the nomination, would he send the mare to Zarak,” Coleman explained. “So basically, they paid the nom, he provided the mare, and so they owned the colt 50-50.”The colt, bought out by the McAuliffe-Don partnership for €230,000, will go into training with Amy Murphy. The trainer has enjoyed her best season to date during her second year in France and for these particular owners she trains both Sydney Moon (Thunder Moon), who won the Listed Grand Criterium de Bordeaux and is entered in next Monday's Listed Prix Isonomy, and Tokaido (Ubettabelieveit), who supplemented his initial Listed win with victory in the G3 Prix du Bois and G2 Prix Robert Papin.Coleman continued, “Two of Amy's best-ever horses are out of this mare, and I think that's as good a model the mare has had, and it's certainly by a long way the best stallion the mare's gone to. So I said to the guys, 'The mare's had black-type horses by Recoletos and American Post, so the Zarak's got a chance of being a good horse.' Hopefully he's going to win the Prix du Jockey Club.”Coleman added that McAuliffe and Don are likely to be joined in the partnership to race the colt by Valmont.Amy Murphy, who also won the G2 Prix Chaudenay on Arc weekend with Jabracadabra (Cracksman), said, “We'll probably buy more staying types this week, and in England and Ireland we've bought more sprinter types, so hopefully we've got a nice balance of stayers and sprinters.”De Watrigant Another Zarak FanAlso in the Zarak camp on Tuesday was agent Nicolas de Watrigant, who bought lot 30, a colt from the day's leading vendor Ecurie des Monceaux out of the Oasis Dream mare Mer Blanche for €200,000. From the family of Group 1 winners Mekhtaal and Johanna Walsh, both by Sea The Stars, he was bought for a partnership and will go into training with Carlos and Yann Lerner.De Watrigant said, “He is a colt with an exceptional conformation and extraordinary movement. He comes from a bloodline I know well, having previously purchased Mekhtaal—winner of the Prix d'Ispahan—who also possessed a great physique as a yearling. It is a very fine Moussac family.“We have had some great success stories with Zarak for our clients, most notably with Zarakem—purchased as a yearling for Mr Seroul—who went on to have a stellar career, and more recently, Montsecret, who was resold very successfully during the Arc sale.”De Watrigant later signed for a first-crop son of Little Big Bear from Haras de Saint Vincent, also at €200,000.He said, “Since this summer, we had been looking for a fine colt by Little Big Bear, and this particular one was the very same individual I had hoped to purchase back in August. Unfortunately, he sustained a minor injury in his stall—right here—which meant he couldn't be presented at the sale. Yet, given his physique and remarkable maturity, he was clearly among the best colts in the August sale—much like his sire, whom I was fortunate enough to purchase here in August on behalf of MV Magnier.“Little Big Bear possesses an exceptional physique, and this colt has inherited many of those qualities. I have great faith in his sire, who passes on scope, precocity, and extraordinary movement to his offspring.”The colt is the second foal of the winning Mastercraftsman mare Serenity, a half-sister to the dual 1,000 Guineas winner Winter.De Watrigant added, “He was bred by Thierry Dalla Longa—a truly excellent breeder, as evidenced once again by his results this year. Mr. Jathière and I went to see the colt again at the Haras de Saint-Vincent two weeks ago, and our decision was made.”Little Big Bear had four yearlings sold throughout the first session of the October Sale for an average of €102,000.The post Godolphin and Rabbah Aid Strong Start to Arqana October appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.